National Basketball Association

Everything you need to know heading into the Bucks-Nets heavyweight matchup

Published Jun. 5, 2021 10:32 a.m. ET

There's a heavyweight matchup on the horizon in the NBA playoffs, and it won't be happening in the conference finals or NBA Finals.

The No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets and No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks are set to square off in the Eastern Conference semifinals, beginning with Game 1 on Saturday, in a matchup that has the caliber of star power usually reserved for the championship round.

With three former MVPs on the court, a former MVP as a head coach and multiple All-Star players sprinkled in, it's safe to say this could be basketball nirvana for NBA fans.

To kick off such a highly anticipated matchup, here is everything you need to know about this Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Season series

The Nets enter this series as the higher seed, and with a trio as dominant as Kevin Durant, James Harden and Kyrie Irving, that should mean they're the favorites, right?

Not so fast.

The Bucks won two of three games against the Nets in the regular season, but there is a caveat: The Nets didn't have their three-headed monster available in any of those games.

Irving missed the first matchup, a 125-123 Nets win.

He was available for the two following contests, but Harden was absent because of a hamstring injury, and the Bucks won those games by three and six points.

This postseason series represents the first time all three of the Nets' superstars will take the court together against the Bucks, and it will be their toughest test yet.

Giannis' dominance

There were two constants in the three regular-season matchups between these teams: All three games were decided by six points or fewer, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was dominant.

The reigning two-time MVP averaged an otherworldly 39.6 points and 10.6 rebounds in the season series, proving to be too much for the Nets to handle in the paint.

But the number to keep an eye on in this series is Antetokounmpo's 3-point percentage. He made 10 3-pointers across the three regular-season games at a 38.4% clip.

If the Nets can't slow him down on the inside or outside, it could be a long series for them.

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Durant's scoring

Antetokounmpo isn't the only former MVP who had his way in the regular-season series, as Durant scored at will for the Nets, averaging 30.6 PPG while shooting 52% from 3-point range against the Bucks.

Durant is widely recognized as one of the best scorers who has ever played in the NBA. That was on display against Milwaukee in the regular season, as well as in the Nets' first-round win over the Boston Celtics.

Already a two-time champion and Finals MVP, Durant has the look of a player wanting more, and it'll be up to the Bucks' defense to slow him down.

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X-factors

There are two players on either side of this series who weren't named All-Stars this season but performed at an All-Star level: Jrue Holiday for the Bucks and Joe Harris for the Nets.

Holiday averaged 21 PPG against the Nets in the regular season and is coming off a first-round series against the Miami Heat in which he proved to be the exact upgrade the Bucks needed at the point guard position, averaging 15.3 PPG and 9.8 APG.

Now his two-way versatility will be put to the test against the Nets' prolific backcourt of Irving and Harden.

On the other side, Harris has been a sniper from deep for the Nets, averaging 13.4 PPG and shooting a red-hot 51.5% from 3-point range in the postseason.

This is par the course for Harris, who shot 50% from 3 in the three regular-season games against the Bucks and led the NBA in 3-point percentage, at 47.5%.

With All-Star talent such as Durant, Irving, Harden, Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on the floor and perhaps canceling each other out, this series could very well be swung by X-factor players such as Holiday and Harris.

What they're saying

It comes as no surprise that this series is hotly anticipated. Here is what those around the NBA are saying about the impending matchup.

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